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Your 'Doomscrolling' Breeds Anxiety. Here's How To Stop The Cycle
Doomscrolling
This is a term that describes the habit of endlessly scrolling social media and news feeds full of doom and gloom on one’s smartphone screen, something which is eroding our mental health.
This self-destructive behaviour has become increasingly common in 2020 due to the dystopian stories and articles related to the pandemic available online and the fact that many people are jobless and sitting at home.
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Key Ideas
Taking breaks is key to better productivity
The harder and longer you work, the less productive overall you'll be. Research confirms that taking breaks before you're mentally exhausted is essential for productivity.
Setting healthy boundaries
Set your personal boundaries, so you have dedicated time to take care of yourself, your family or household, and your professional responsibilities. You won't be any good to your family if you regularly jump up to respond to work.
The key to success is deciding on expectations, then communicating those to others. You need to get clear in your mind what hours you will be attending to your work. Perhaps dedicate a space in your home as the "office," letting everyone know that you need privacy. Decide when you are "on" and when you are "off."
Technology and productivity
We all have tools in our pockets to help us.
- For example, consider using your phone's built-in alarm for taking breaks, or giving yourself a reminder to eat lunch, or taking a screen break to reduce eyestrain.
- If you find it challenging to work, consider a productivity method like the Pomodoro technique, where you work deeply for about 25 minutes, then take a short break. Repeat four of the cycles, then take a 30-minute break before starting again. There are many Pomodoro apps to help you.
- Don't forget to use the same technology to turn off notifications and distractions while you're working.
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Key Ideas
Emotional clarity
It means that we have a good understanding of how we feel emotionally.
Label your emotions
Use plain language. The more fluent you are with real emotional language, the more clearly you will be able to think about how you’re feeling.
Clarify your emotions
Get used to the idea of emotional complexity. When we feel upset, we're not feeling one single emotion. We are usually experiencing a blend of many emotions.
Training ourselves to look for and see this emotional complexity is key to better understanding ourselves when we’re upset and moving on in a healthy way.
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Key Ideas
Why A Pandemic Is Uniquely Stressful
- All of our attention is being focused on the threatening aspects of the situation.
- Headlines are dominated by places where the pandemic is currently hitting the hardest.
- Our...
Tackling Your Anxiety
- Reach out to a mental health professional, even if you can’t meet with them in person.
- Reframe the virus outbreak by temporal distancing, or by focusing your attention on a longer timescale.
- Try putting the outbreak in historical context (there have been many pandemics during our history).
- Limit how much information you consume about the new virus outbreak. Find the right balance between being informed and being overwhelmed.
Stress-Reducing Activities
- Try meditation or any anxiety-busting method that works for you.
- Look for things that are future-oriented and pleasurable.
- Do tasks around the house you have been putting off.
- Think of activities you can still do with your loved ones, even if you can't be with them physically.